AdFreak

Are we laughing with eBay or at eBay here?

Would you buy a snowmobile on eBay because Jim Gaffigan tells you to? The answer, of course, is no. Could you enjoy his attempts to persuade you in a TV commercial? Well, yes ... in theory. In practice, however, viewers might hit the fast-forward button. Sadly, the same is true of much of this new campaign from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for the fading auction powerhouse. See a whole bunch of ads here. eBay crested during Web 1.0, and this effort seems hell-bent on delivering old-hat, mostly unfunny schtick from a who's-who of cable-comedy refugees in set-ups that go nowhere. Even the stuff with the younger performers feels dated. It's so ... '90s. The absurdly annoying Michael Ian Black in a tattoo parlor? There's only one way that works: jam a needle in his neck. Alas, he escapes unpoked. Other featured comics include Michael Showalter and Kevin Hart. Overall, the campaign generates more yucks than yuks. These spots perfectly mirror the advertiser: mired in the past and outbid for fresh ideas by a new generation of socially minded Web rivals.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

The 'ridiculous charade' of recording an ad

Few people suffer under the heavy egotistical load of the ad industry quite like the sound engineers who record audio for commercials. They're micromanaged by everyone from the client to the junior copywriter, so it's nice to see them get their revenge in this anonymously produced British video, created with the same Xtranormal text-to-movie software that gave us the bitter robot designer. Via American Copywriter.

—Posted by David Griner

Kids would prefer you not destroy the Earth

Zig's cinematic spot for Moms Against Climate Change pits child protesters (shouldn't they be in school?) against cops (don't they have parking tickets to write?) to illustrate that if kids knew what was at stake, they'd take action. There's no denying it packs a punch. That said, something feels off. I think I was expecting a boffo climax to really drive the point home. Why not have the sides embrace, each kid finding one of his or her parents among the riot squad, to symbolize that we're all in this together? Conversely, acid rain pouring from above and "frying" every last person? That would make a strong statement! Sure, it's easy for me to second-guess—that's why I enjoy it so much. Still, using children is a form of hot-button emotional manipulation. And to stretch a metaphor, failing to turn up that flame delivers a lukewarm message on a globally incendiary issue.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

HBO still taking shots at George W. Bush

The George W. Bush era is thankfully gone, but HBO and Venables, Bell & Partners channel the former president's less-than-lucid vibe and penchant for incoherent phrasing in this banner and billboard push touting the DVD release of the Will Ferrell special You're Welcome, America: A Final Night With George W. Bush. The election-poster-style ads include Bush-inspired slogans like "Never misunderestimate me," "Celebrate the era of strategery" and "Mission still not accomplished." The work's amusing, but the tongue-twisted ex-leader of the free world is such an easy target, attempts at parody are, as the man himself might say, akin to shooting fish in apparel. OK, he probably would've said something worse. He wasn't good with words, though his eight-year record of anti-achievement speaks for itself.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

1993 Taurus a great car for today, says Ford

Great fake press conference here from The Onion, in which a Ford exec explains why the '93 Taurus is the best vehicle for today's cash-strapped consumers. If the $650 price tag doesn't grab you, surely the free cassette tape of Primus's Sailing the Seas of Cheese will. Via Consumerist.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Trivial Pursuit ponders which sex is smarter

Hasbro is pitting the lads against the lasses in a new campaign for its Trivial Pursuit board game that aims to determine, once and for all, which group is more intelligent. The comical video above makes arguments for each side based on stock footage of general stupidity. Meanwhile, at the Web site, TrivialPursuitExperiment.com, you're challenged to answer trivia questions on behalf of your entire gender, with the global tally being kept up top. (And don't try to be all smart by logging in as the opposite gender and acting stupid. Only correct answers affect the tally, you idiot.) Smartypants worldwide will enjoy the campaign, but might quibble with the tagline. Shouldn't it be, "Who's smarter than whom?" Via Adverblog.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Liberty Mutual magically makes things good

Hill, Holliday employs arresting visuals to illustrate that "an accident doesn't have to slow you down" in this pair of Liberty Mutual spots touting new car replacement and guaranteed repairs. In the ad above, a guy convincingly plucks a "spare" vehicle from the trunk of his recently smashed-up car. The ad below follows the impact of a crash along the length of a car and shows the damage repairing itself almost as soon as it happens. The ads are impressively staged and memorable. Still, dealing with insurance companies after accidents can be a stressful, protracted, sometimes maddening experience—and these spots overreach a bit by making the process seem effortless, almost magical. It's probably wishful thinking to expect insurers' practices to be as special as the effects they use in commercials.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Previously on AdFreak:
Liberty Mutual's quirky ad family needs help
More talk about ethics from Liberty Mutual

Christ's death helps out Safeway customers

It's good to know that all that suffering on the cross wasn't in vain. Safeway prices really are to die for. Thanks, Jesus! Via The Denver Egotist. UPDATE: A guy at FAIL Blog is taking responsibility for this, and says it was a prank he pulled on a couple of Safeways in the Seattle area a few Easters ago.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Crowdsourcing leads to an ill-advised tattoo

Crowdsourcing is not everyone's cup of tea. Some find it a little insulting to advertising professionals who hone their craft only to see the unwashed masses debase themselves coming up with ideas for next to nothing. A new low may have been reached with a crowdsourcing logo contest run by Veer, a stock-photography brand owned by Corbis. Veer put a twist on its contest (the winner gets a Macbook Pro) by asking people to "re-create the Veer logo using real-world objects or materials." One eager beaver decided to use his arm and a tattoo needle. His submission is the video below. The best comment comes from the tattoo artist: "I ain't got to live with it." The fact that this dope is walking around with a stock-photography company's name on his arm alarms me. There's still time to top the tattoo, if anyone wants to literally get branded. The contest ends today. Thanks to @ijyoung. UPDATE: OK, it's a "faux" tattoo.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Actors bring ShareBuilder silhouettes to life

Ever want to step into an ad? It probably beats what most of us do all day. I'd like to enter an Apple poster and kick Mr. Long in the shins. But that's just me. If you'd rather kick Hodgman, that's fine, too. Unfortunately, it's not Apple but ShareBuilder that's letting folks "walk into" ads this week with window displays at the NBC Experience Store in New York's Rockefeller Plaza. It's a metaphor for walking into the world of personal investing. At the live installation, actors replace the silhouettes used in the client's new print campaign. Now, these aren't famous actors like Long or Hodgman, they're those off-Broadway types who make up about three-quarters of Manhattan's wait-staff and bartending ranks. Headlines promise that "anyone can invest and get a share of their favorite brands." Maybe those window actors can follow the advice, start "gradually buying up" chunks of Disney and Viacom and put themselves in some prime-time shows.

—Posted by David Gianatasio